There are times I'm completely uncomfortable with my works being performed publicly, and I haven't attended certain concerts because the prospect is akin to having a diary read on stage. But there are also situations - whether with an audience… — Michael Hersch Copy Share Image
The work of Liszt I most admire is the music he wrote toward the end of his life. This is often music of tremendous inventiveness. The music seems to be seeking something. It tends to be restless, unpredictable, often very… — Michael Hersch Copy Share Image
I enjoy the challenge of taking something which was not meant for the piano, distilling its essence and writing or improvising it for/at the… — Michael Hersch Copy Share Image
If people want insights, if they want to swim in the currents of their own time and share the experiences of their time, then… — Michael Hersch Copy Share Image
I write because the act of writing itself is what drives me. It's a private communication within myself - nothing more or less. This… — Michael Hersch Copy Share Image
I was fortunate to work with Corigliano for a few years in the mid nineties. Meeting and working with him during those formative years… — Michael Hersch Copy Share Image
My own goals center around writing the best music that I can, and only I can determine whether or not I've succeeded in accomplishing… — Michael Hersch Copy Share Image
The visual and literary arts are of perennial interest to me, and these art forms have become more and more a part of my… — Michael Hersch Copy Share Image
Many critics have become de facto teachers. That is a lot of responsibility, and I think it should be wielded with care. Most people… — Michael Hersch Copy Share Image
I don't think performance out of duty yields very much. Coercion is never the way to go. — Michael Hersch Copy Share Image
As a young composer I had a particular fondness for Liszt's Beethoven Symphony arrangements for the piano, and to this day I enjoy playing… — Michael Hersch Copy Share Image
The best results come when people believe in and feel strongly about the music they are playing. Just as composers write for certain types… — Michael Hersch Copy Share Image
I don't think the role of the critic has changed very much. In the most positive sense, the music critic is one who helps… — Michael Hersch Copy Share Image
As I see it, the major requirements for a strong and able rendering are an understanding of a work's structure, voicing, and trajectory; an… — Michael Hersch Copy Share Image
The musical culture in the United States has no doubt suffered severe setbacks, especially in funding, since the early 2000's. However, I've been amazed… — Michael Hersch Copy Share Image
George Rochberg once said that 'to be a composer, you need to have fire in the belly, fire in the brain, but most importantly,… — Michael Hersch Copy Share Image
